Frame construction for kites and like toys



Feb. 8, 1949; H. M. CHU ET AL FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR KITES AND-LIKE TOYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 14, 1947 IN vzwrom'. Helga N. (ha

Hing 1 (ha Feb. 8, 1949.- |v (,zg-{u EI'AL 2,461,465

FRAME CONSTRUCTION rbn n'rias AND LiKB TOYS filed Nov. 14, 1947 "2 Sheets-5110952- Hiny if (ha Patented Feb. 8, 1949 FRAME CONSTRUCTION" FOR B11158 LIKE TOYS Helga Marie .Ghu and E. 431111,

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Application November 14, 1947, serial No. 785;??2

1 Our invention relates to a frame construction for kites and like toys, and more particularly to certain improvements in the structure of the frame, whereby various sizes and lengths of materials may be assembled and securely fastened together to constitute a sturdy knock-down kite or toy aerial construction. It is an object of our invention to provide seet'ional parts that'may be united by tubular jointed connections to form a complete reinforced frame structure especially adapted to support a specially prepared surface covering material to be secured thereto.

It is an object of our invention to provide sectional rods, bars or sticks of predetermined length in sets together with simple tubular connections and with tabular angularconnections for joining; the sectional sticks to form a reinforced frame structure. a

It is also an object of our invention to provide a centrally located sheet material portion having laterally projectin parts, said portion and parts having means on the extremities thereof for attachmen-t to the'outermost ends of the sticks.

It is a further object of our invention to provide the top of the central portion with agummed scroll for securing said top to the'uppe'r end or one stick and to provide a bottom portion or folded sheet material having overlapping interconnected flaps forming a hollow box-like portion having an apertured wall adapted to receive and locate the lower end of the same'stick centrally thereof, said laterally projecting parts having angularly arranged flaps on its outer extremities thereof, said central portion also having angularly arranged flaps thereon, all of said flaps having apertures therein arranged in alignment with each other to receive astick arranged'transversely of the central axis of said central portion and parallel to both said laterally projecting parts, It is also. an object of our invention'to. provide a cover or facing comprising the principal airfoil of our kite or aerial toy, said cover may comprise e semieirel l s 'ha a m r e ha n on substantially straight edged portion having notches suitably formed therein to straddle the flaps and. the upper portion of the upright central stick. the area on one side along the free edges of the notched portion being gummed whereby the strai ht edged and notched portion may be folded about the transverse stick and cemented to itself below said stick.

It'is also an object of our invention to produce a three unit novel assemblage comprlsin a novel aerial toy.-

, Furthermore, we contemplate making the new tions or the-principal airfoil have not yet ha g e s Yd end n H and Ian a scri aerial toy 'in different sizes, such as large and intermediate sizes, etc.

Other objects "and advantages will be revert-lea in the detailed description-of our invention.

' -In the drawings:

Figure '1 is a front elevatienal view- 01a of sheet material having attachable and detach a'ble sheet material project-ions e-Xtending lateraiv- Lly therefrom.-

Figure 2 is a rear elevationalview or the-blank partly foldedat its-lower portion-and shtiifi'g the securing scroll on its-upper end.

Figure 3 is an elevati-enal view of a racin por tion. or principal airfoil portion constitii ng" a preformed segment of a circleready for as bla'e to our kite frame construction.

gure 4 is a rear elevaticnal vie er our kite substantially in com leted form except that-p n cemented ascleaflymdioated on the right half of this figure.

drawings, as s own, are-merely llustrative of-oiie embodiment of ouriiivention ahd'not defin itive thereof except as set forth in the claimed subject matter. 7

. l The reference charaeters'identify theipar ts'and portions of our invention as depicted incur-giro 4 ings and as specified in our written dseripti en thereof, v V g ,The three-part blank comprising the body 1 having the attachable and detachable enter! to o @0 p ece 8 a ap d to be :wou. at! sewreq't suppe endof. t n a r the ju tab s mmed a em 1:

"(not shown) The extension del we The extremities of the arms 2 and 3 are also provided with flaps. I! and I8 flexed-rearwardly along creased bending lines [9 a'rfd'Ztl; The flaps 9, 10, H and I8 are provided with apertures 21, 22, 23 and 24, all arranged'subplastic material, then the amount of a stick section inserted could be readily seen.

The stick sections are made preferably of light strong wood, such as, bamboo or any other light but'strong wood may be selected. It is also contemplated that the sticks may be made of light but strong tubular plastic material, such as mentioned above in connection with the tubular connectors. The stick ll and the connection 59 for the elbows 54 and 55 are secured together or "otherwise fastened to prevent lateral shifting of the .elbows with reference to the ring 42.

- In making the frame construction, we contemplate making it as light as possible commensurate stantially in alignment with each other to receive a transversely arranged stick 56.

The lower end of the body I is provided with a depending extension 25 and two lateral extensions 26 and 27. All the extensions are provided with creased folding lines 28, 29, 30, 3|, 32 and 3,3. The depending extension 215 is providedwith slits 34, 35, 36 and 31 to receive the tips of the T-end fasteners 38 and 39. The extensions are folded and fastened as indicated at the lower ends of Figures 2 and 4. Cemented or gummed fas tenings may be used in addition to the mechanical fasteners or in lieu of our mechanical fasteners throughout our sheet material construction.

Now that our sheet material, minor airfoil, has been substantially completed, the upright stick ,4.|;;is inserted through the apertured ring 42, and into the aperture 46 of the flap 25 a clearly shown in Figures. The upper end of the stick 4! is received in the head extension 5 and the scroll 6 is coiled about the upper end of the stick gll and is secured in place by cement or the use of gummed surface; portions (not shown).

All the sticksfare sectional and are united by tubular connectors some of which are double and straight as 43, some are single and straight as M, 45, 46, 41, fiand dfl, some are -shaped as 5D and 5|,- twoare obtuse angles as 52 and 53, and two are right angled elbows as 54 and 55. The connectors may be made of any suitable material such-as aluminum .alloy, or suitable plastic material, such as casean plastics,- cast phenolic, cellulose acetate, laminated phenolic, Phenolite" or Synthane,v laminated phenolic aldehyde resins,.Lucite, Lumarith, etc.

The transverse stick 56 is arranged to extend through the aligned apertures of the flaps 9, l0, Jl a nd J8 and'extendsa suitable distance beyond flaps 'IT and 13,-as clearly shown in Figure- 4. The sticks 51 and 58 may be designated trussing sticks ort-they, may be designated as reinforced cantilever sticks since their lower ends are se- '.cured' and connected and extend through the ring, 42 The sticks 51 and 58-extend from the ltconnections and 5! across each other and itheupright stick 4!, and continue to the angulair connections 52 and 53 and thence downward- 'ly, parallel to each other and to the upright central stick, and terminate in the elbow connections 54 and 55 secured or anchored in the ring 42.

.The anchor ring 42 may be made of aluminum all y or of any suitable plastic material like that fabove' mentioned in connection with the tubular connections.

-, Thetdouble tubular connection 43 has this ad- ;vanta'ge, that you can readily'disoover how much .ofa-sticksection has been inserted in the confnector without the use of prearranged marksv on {the stick sections. Of course, if the connectors -i.. eesei, imminent o ea y. tr n ien with the strength required to maintain our aerial tby'in its required shape even in a strong wind.

The folded box-like tail piece 25, the ring 42 and all the other parts and portions engaging the same provide sufficient weight in the lower portion of the kite to aid in maintaining its balance during its flight. V

The major airfoil 68 is of semicircular contour or may even be les than a semicircle in size or area and is made preferably of suitable sheet material suchas thin but light and strong cardboard or pasteboard and it may be made of any of the plastic materials mentioned in connection with the sheet material of the body I. The straight or upper edge portion 6! of the airfoil is Provided with notches or recesses 62, 63, 64, and 6-6, to straddle the flaps 9, I0, I! and I8 and the stick 4], as clearly shown in Figure 4. The airfoil 60 is provided with gummed portions 61, 68 and 69 along its upper edge, as shown to the right of Figure 4.

-The airfoil 60 is inserted between the. frame construction and the minor airfoil body i and the ilaps and stick 4| are received by the notches. The straight edge portions are accurately folded over the stick 56 and accurately secured about the stick 56 by the gummed portions '61, 68 and 5 9 which adhere to the rear surface portion of the airfoil 6U.

;;;Every'unit must be accurately assembled to maintainthe balance required for a steady and sustained flight.

The three string sections (not shown) are secured to the outer ends of stick 56 and to the lower end of stick 4|, respectively. The three string sections are connected to the main kite string also (not shown). V l Ifl can now be readily understood that we have produced a three unit novel aerial toy comprising: first, a minor airfoil body unit I of'sheet material; secondly, a frame construction unit comprising united stick sections amply braced and reinforced in a particular manner by the employmentiof particular means for securing the section's together and in proper place and third, we have provided a major airfoil unit secured between the other units as previously described and displayed on'our drawings. f

From the foregoing description 'of the frame construction for kites and like toys, the method 'of making same and the application thereof to use will be readily understood and it will be seen that we have provided a comparatively simple, inexpensive and eilicient means for carrying out the various objects of our invention.

While we have particularly described the elements best adapted to perform the functions set forth, it is apparent that various changes in-form, .proportionand-in the minor details of construc- "t'ion'm-ay be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. An aerial toy comprising a cross-shaped minor airfoil having front and rear surfaces, a supporting frame, and a major airfoil, said frame being disposed against the minor airfoil on the rear surface thereof and having upper and lower end portions secured to the minor airfoil, said major airfoil being substantially semicircular in contour and having its straight edge portion secured to the upper end portion of the frame, and said major airfoil being located between the frame and the minor airfoil.

2. A kite comprising major and minor airfoils and a frame, said frame being disposed against the rear surface portion of the minor airfoil and having upper and lower end portions secured to the minor airfoil, and said major airfoil being secured to the upper end portion of said frame and located between said minor airfoil and frame.

3. The construction set forth in claim 2 in which the minor airfoil is provided with a plurality of flaps extending rearwardly from the rear surface portion thereof, each of said flaps having an apertured portion, said apertures being in alignment with each other and receiving a transversely extending portion of said frame.

4. The construction set forth in claim 2, in which said frame resembles a cross in general contour, said frame having a transversely extending stick adjacent its upper portion, said major airfoil being secured along its upper edge to said transverse stick.

5. The construction set forth in claim 2, in which said minor airfoil resembles a human figure in general contour with outstretched arms, said frame representing a cross in general contour and including an upright stick and a cross stick, said frame being located substantially within the contour of said figure except that the ends of the cross stick project beyond the ends of the arms.

6. A kite comprising a cross-shaped minor airfoil and a substantially semicircular major airfoil in combination with a substantially crossshaped frame secured to the rear surface of said minor airfoil, said frame comprising an upright stick and a transversely arranged stick adjacent the upper end portion of said upright stick, said minor airfoil having an upper end forming a head portion and a lower end forming a foot portion and laterally extending side arms, said head portion receiving the upper end of said upright stick, said foot portion receiving the lower end of said upright stick the transversely arranged stick being disposed along the side arms and connected therewith and means for centering the ends of said upright stick on said head portion and in said foot portion, said major airfoil having portions of its straight edge folded over said transversely arranged stick and cemented to said minor airfoil below said transversely arranged stick.

'7. The construction set forth in claim 6, in which said frame is provided with a pair of reinforced cantilever sticks and tubular Y-shaped connectors securing the cantilever sticks to said transversely arranged stick, said pair of sticks comprising companion sections and angular tubular connectors, said pair of sticks crossing each other and said upright stick at the same point, a pair of tubular elbows at lower ends of the pair of sticks connected with each other by a tube extending across the upright stick, a ring having two pairs of diametrically arranged and equally spaced apertures, one pair of apertures receiving the lower portion of said upright stick and the other pair of apertures receiving the tube connecting the elbows, said tube being secured in position to prevent shifting relative to said ring and relative to said upright stick.

8. The construction set forth in claim 6, in which said head portion of the minor airfoil carries a scroll integral therewith, said scroll being wound about the upper end portion of the upright stick and adheringly secured to the upright stick and to the head portion of the minor airfoil.

9. In the construction set forth in claim 6, tongues carried by said minor airfoil and folded to form a box-like foot portion, fasteners integral with said tongues and holding the tongues in the folded condition, said box-like foot including an upper wall portion having an aperture therein through which the lower end portion of said upright stick passes.

10. The construction set forth in claim 6, in which the minor airfoil is provided with two pairs of rearwardly projecting flaps, said flaps having aligned apertures through which said transversely arranged stickpasses, the major airfoil being formed with notches in which said flaps and the upright stick fit.

11. In an aerial toy, a substructure including a substantially semicircular major airfoil, said airfoil having its straight edge notched and thereby divided into spaced portions adapted to be folded about a stick, each of said spaced portions having gummed areas on one side thereof.

12. A kite construction comprising a body of sheet material constituting a minor airfoil, a frame secured to and supporting the minor airfoil said frame being located back of said minor airfoil, and including an upright stick extending longitudinallyof the minor airfoil and a transversely extending stick, a substantially semicircular major airfoil of sheet material located between said frame and minor airfoil, said major airfoil having portions along its straight edge secured about the transversely extending stick of said frame.

HELGA MARIE CHU. HING F. CHU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 294,526 Stumpp Mar. 4, 1884 1,912,808 Watson June 6, 1933 2,349,417 Gene May 23, 1944 

